Former ISU prez found guilty

Former ISU prez found guilty

Latest: 10:05 pm, 6/30/14, Monday
NORMAL -- The former president of ISU was found guilty of disorderly conduct.

Latest: 10:05 pm, 6/30/14, MondayNORMAL -- The former president of ISU was found guilty of disorderly conduct. Tim Flanagan got into an argument with a landscaper in December. Prosecutors say he screamed at the employee who was scared. Flanagan resigned in March. Monday, he was sentenced to a year probation, community service and a $300 fine.

Update: 10:08 pm, 3/24/14, TuesdayNORMAL -- The former president of Illinois State University has been charged after an altercation with a former employee. Timothy Flanagan is facing a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.

A former grounds crew employee says Flanagan assaulted him during an argument about the care of his lawn. He resigned from his position Saturday. Flanagan is set to appear in court April 23.

Original: 10:46 pm, 3/23/14, SundayNORMAL -- It was a whirlwind day for Illinois State University. The board announced former president Timothy Flanagan's resignation, then, just minutes later, appointed a new president. Scott Probst tells us what happened.

It was a strange day on the Illinois State University campus. In the span of ten minutes, its leadership changed hands.

"Illinois State University President Timothy Flanagan resigned today effective immediately."

Flanagan's contract originally had him serving through 2016. But, he was only president for seven months. ISU awarded him a severance package of almost $500,000. The Board of Trustees moved quickly to fill the empty position.

"The Board believes that excellent leadership exist on this campus and there is no need to repeat a long and expensive search process, which was completed just a short time ago."

Larry Deitz was the runner-up in the last search. A 40-year education veteran and Vice-President of Student Affairs at ISU, Deitz's contract was approved unanimously by the board.

"I plan to continue to work hard and represent and advocate for this institution. It's an excellent institution and I feel very fortunate to be the person in this role."

When asked about the quick role change, Deitz shrugged off any doubt.

"The only constant at universities is change. That's just something that we deal with."

The university on the other hand, dodged questions about the reason why a university president would step down less than a third of the way through his contract.

"As the agreement said in the press release, we cannot go into that. We can't comment on why. You will have to ask Dr. Flanagan about why he resigned."

In a statement, Flanagan said:

I appreciate the experience of working with the students, faculty, staff and alumni of Illinois State, but, after discussion with the Board, I have decided it would be best that I pursue other opportunities.

This all comes on the heels of an investigation involving Flanagan. An incident, said to have taken place outside the president's home, alleges charges of assault and disorderly conduct.

Now, the State's Attorney's office is evaluating whether it will take the case because McLean County State's Attorney Jason Chamber's wife, is an employee at ISU.

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